


You're Too Good For Me

by satans_spaghetti



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Boyfriends, Cute, First Meetings, Fluff, Happy, M/M, Phan - Freeform, dan is a singer, hold ur horses it'll get emo, m/m - Freeform, phil is a barista
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:02:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23275993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/satans_spaghetti/pseuds/satans_spaghetti
Summary: Daniel Howell is an exhausted singer who just wants a normal life with people who don't treat him like he'll curb-stomp them if they get one thing wrong.One day after walking to nowhere in particular, he gets caught in a storm and takes refuge in a small, bright café that's just as cute as it's manager, a bubbly barista.
Relationships: Dan Howell & Phil Lester, Dan Howell/Phil Lester
Comments: 7
Kudos: 34





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The program I write on for drafts doesn't let me do accented letters, so I apologise for where they've been missed!

For once, Dan was grateful there was a light rainfall. He could pull his hood up over his easily distinguishable mess of hair and wouldn’t look suspicious to the people he passed on the street. Some of them may still recognise him if they were looking hard enough, but thankfully the youngest people walking past him were at least in their late twenties and they weren’t the ones who were in Dan’s audience, let alone middle-aged balding businessmen (unless some of them listened to pop music, it wasn’t  _ impossible _ ). 

He wasn’t too sure of why he left his flat. It was spacious and perfect for his wants and needs (which was surprising, as he left all the decorating to an interior designer, feeling hopeless about designing himself) and he felt as if he could stay there for weeks on end. Sadly, his job forbade him from doing so, but every once in a while he would try. 

Today was different, though. He wanted to get up and moving, maybe even get a coffee that wasn’t the same as every single other day and brought to his bed for him by his assistant, of whom decided to get a key for his flat without considering Dan’s privacy. He dismissed her every morning, just wanting privacy in his own home but she was back an hour or so later, cleaning his kitchen or doing his laundry. Dan would be lying if he said he didn’t mind her doing all his work for him; not that he was ungrateful for the service, he just wanted to do his own thing sometimes. That’s all. Especially as everyone else treated him like royalty (at least, that’s what it felt like to him and he couldn’t be more sick of it). 

The rain fell softly and Dan watched as spots began to litter the path in front of him as he walked along. It was quite warm, despite it being mid-October and drizzling, but it was a refreshing change from the typical freezing weather he decided to always take on in the safety of his home where he could control the heating and lie under blankets while watching Netflix and nibbling on pizza or noodles. 

Dan was brought out of his daydream of deciding where to go when the rain started hitting the ground harder, and the raindrops got heavier. Dan cursed in his mind, knowing he shouldn’t have trusted the rain to let up long enough for him to find a nice enough place to take cover. 

He looked up from the ground and considered the cafe he was standing outside of. It was nicely decorated and looked homely and local, so he pushed through the door and into the warm aromas of fresh espresso and the sound of a familiar sounding playlist playing over the speakers softly. 

Dan pulled his hood down and pushed his curls back off his forehead, silently praying he didn’t look like he had a wet mop head on his head before looking at the menu. 

There were all sorts of crazy-sounding things that felt too adventurous and would definitely make Dan feel stupid if he tried ordering it by the displayed names, so he just decided on something simple and walked up to the register, waiting for service. 

While he did so, he looked around at the cute details of the pastel coloured shop -- the walls were all white as were the chairs, and different coloured pastel cushions sat on them as well as on the couch (that was made out of a number of different fabrics and was somehow not hideous, but homely). There were Moroccan rugs under the chairs that were facing around the couch, and a smaller one at the foot of the fireplace that, rather than having an actual fire, had a tv that was rolling some sort of film of a real fireplace. Art of abstract and/or strange coloured animals were adorned on the walls of watercolour lions to oil-paintings of parrots. It was the perfect little place for escaping the public, as no one would suspect him being  _ here _ . It was too bright and colourful for his branding, which worked perfect for him in this case. 

He was brought out of his thoughts by a man -- about the same age and height as him -- emerging from behind a  portière that blended right in with the decoration so that you’d barely recognise it was there. 

His smile was crooked but friendly and his blue-yellow eyes sparkled behind clear-framed glasses. He was wearing a dark blue shirt with nyan-cat on it and a white apron that was covered in flour and some kind of chocolate sauce. 

“Hello! What can I get for you?” he asked, his voice bright and uplifting. 

“Just a mocha latte, please,” Dan replied. 

He smiled and nodded, turning and getting to work. He didn’t mean to, but Dan’s eyes fell to his ass and he had to bite back a laugh, as there were two floury handprints over the pockets of the barista’s black skinny jeans. 

Dan pulled his eyes away out of fear of bursting out laughing and studied the pastries in the glass displays. The gingerbread men had derpy faces on them and there were cookies with all sorts of candy mixed into them. Dan was almost drooling over the chocolate muffins but was pulled out of his daze as the cute barista turned and placed his coffee in front of him. The latte art was a ghost and Dan smiled. 

“Already getting into Halloween?” Dan asked and the barista smiled. 

“Well of course! It’s already mid-October,” he said. “I still need to hang decorations but none of it really goes with the rest of the… colour scheme.” 

He gestured around the shop and Dan giggled. 

“I also ordered a  _ lot _ and I can’t be bothered,” he laughed at himself. 

Dan thought for a second then hummed. “I’ve got nothing to do, want some help?” 

The barista looked him up and down in a facetious manner, then smiled. “You could reach high. Some muscle, that’s a plus…” 

Dan smiled, suddenly self-conscious but masking it. 

“You’re perfect for the job,” the man smiled and stuck out his hand, Dan taking it and shaking it. 

“You won’t regret this choice,” Dan gushed and they both laughed. 

The barista reached under the bench that separated them and brought out a large box that had fairy lights and various pastel-coloured decorations to put around the shop. Dan looked at the box with wide eyes and a grin. 

“You don’t mess around when it comes to decorating, do you?” he smiled. 

“Oh, you haven’t seen the Christmas box,” he replied and they erupted into another fit of laughter. “Take whatever and just put it where it looks best, I’ll be out with the tablecloths.” 

“Yes boss,” Dan said and with one final smile, the barista left behind the portière in search of the pastel orange tablecloths. 

Dan took off his sunglasses but put them back on again, not wanting people to walk past and recognise him and cause chaos in the peaceful atmosphere the cafe possessed. He walked around, hanging up fairy lights and putting the cute little plastic figures around where they fit best. The barista was correct, they didn’t fit it, but they were cute enough to get away with it. 

He was just angling a witch and a ghost so they looked at the door when the barista was back with another box in his arms. Blankets and seat cushions spilled out over the top and Dan couldn’t help the smile that stretched across his face. 

“Are you sure you don’t need to be anywhere?” he asked Dan after he put the box down on a table. 

_ I mean, my manager might murder me.  _ “Yeah. I’ve got nowhere to be,” Dan said. 

The barista smiled and nodded before ruffling through the box and grabbing some tablecloths. They were the same pastel colours as the chair cushions but had a white cobweb design on them. They then worked together to fold up the tablecloths and replace them with ‘spookier’ ones. 

“So what do you do for work?” the barista asked politely. 

Dan was wondering if the barista had recognised him, and he was kind of thankful he didn’t. 

But now there was the issue of saying what he did. 

“Oh, uh... Nothing too big. Just a musician,” he said. Not a lie but not entirely the truth, either. 

“Oh! I thought you looked somewhat familiar. I must have seen you performing at a bar.” 

“Something like that,” Dan said quietly. “So, is this your shop?” 

The barista nodded. “I started working here after I was out of Uni and didn’t know what to do with my bachelors degree. My boss was pretty old and retired a few years later, leaving the shop for me.” 

“Are you still in contact with him?” Dan asked as they moved to the next table and he folded up the tablecloth while he laid the pastel purple one down. 

“Of course, we were really close. I never really see my family much so he was and still is a father figure to me.” 

“That’s amazing,” Dan smiled. He was mildly jealous that this guy had someone close to him here. The only person Dan really had was his grandma, and she lived too far for frequent trips that had put a dampener on Dan’s mood more than once. He shook the negativity out of his head and they made small-talk while they continued. 

Once all the tablecloths and seat cushions were replaced, Dan went back to his coffee to find it cold. 

“Oh gosh, sorry!” the barista said sincerely. “I’ll make another one. Just dump that if you want.” 

“No, it’s all fine,” Dan said but the barista still looked uneasy. 

“How about I make it into a frappe?” he suggested. 

Dan took one obvious glance to the window that was sheltering them from the buckets of rain to indicate why that was a bad idea and they laughed. “It’s really okay, I wouldn’t have started drinking it until it was this cold anyway.” 

“Okay,” was the barista’s reply. 

Dan really wanted to get his name, maybe his number, but his anxiety rose up high enough even at the thought of getting this guy’s number, so he bailed. Instead, he said, “I should get going now.” 

“Yes, I’ve kept you long enough. Thanks for the help,” he smiled and Dan could have sworn his eyes were twinkling. 

“No worries,” Dan smiled and waved slightly. 

They said their goodbyes and Dan said he’d visit again, which received a large grin from the man. Dan felt a bounce in his step on his way back to his apartment, even if the rain was drenching him. 

He filled up a hot bath and threw in a bath-bomb, making an Instagram story of it and adding some sort of witty comment he immediately forgot about before hopping in and letting the boiling water warm him up and relax his muscles (something he knew he’d need before he faced the many missed calls he got from his manager, asking about some insignificant thing about his new album). 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short chapter, sorry. Writers' block is my enemy.

Dan’s peaceful slumber was cut way too short as the loud, obnoxious ringtone of his phone beat into his ears. He groaned and stretched before reaching over and answering. 

“‘Ello?” he barely even mumbled. 

“Daniel Howell, where in the world are you?” Ange, his manager shouted. 

“What?” he managed to form a frown and open his eyes, looking over to where his curtains had been drawn. He could tell the sky was grey, as the light coming through the cracks of the curtains weren’t bright and yellow. 

“Are you still in  _ bed _ ?” she whisper-shrieked and he winced. 

“Why, what’s on today?” 

“We’re doing a podcast in-” she paused, presumably to check her watch (something she did constantly). “-In  _ twenty minutes _ .” 

Dan groaned, this not being the first time he’d slept in. He hated it when she scheduled things so inhumanely early. “Text me the address,” he said before hanging up and dropping his phone onto the carpet beside his bed. 

He was half tempted to close his eyes and just go back to sleep, but he knew Ange would march to his bed and pull him to the podcast by the ankles. So instead, he pulled himself up and struggled into jeans and a hoodie, fussing around with his hair for ten minutes before grabbing his phone and leaving, catching a taxi to the address he was texted. 

The rush into the booth was worse than a walk of shame, but he was so used to it at this point he didn’t care. The questions were the same as always and Dan put his best enthusiastic face on, trying to seem excited. 

The hour seemed to drag on for three, and Dan was relieved when they finished up. Ange walked out with him and asked if he wanted to go for lunch. He said sure and they took a taxi to a burger place. 

Once they ordered and were sitting down, Ange took out her phone and started answering emails. This wasn’t out of the normal, she was always busy, but Dan felt unimportant and wished he didn’t accept the invitation. 

He sighed lightly so she wouldn’t hear and laid his chin on his arms that were being by the table. He people-watched for a bit, trying to come up with backstories for why their faces were so sour but Dan got bored quickly and thought back to the cute barista. 

He really wished he got his name, or at least wasn’t too anxious to get his number. He huffed, annoyed at himself and unwillingly got Ange’s attention. 

She put down her phone and looked at him. “Sorry, I got bombarded with emails this morning.” 

Dan sat up straight and smiled. “It’s cool, I was thinking about something else.” 

“Hm? Is that right?” she asked, a mischievous grin on her face. 

As bossy as she was, she was also a great friend and Dan could tell her anything when she was listening and giving time to him. 

He groaned and regretted what he said. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing.” 

“Dan, I know when you’re hiding something from me. Don’t give me that bullshit,” she said and her expression was mixed between concerned and curious. 

“Just the job getting to me again,” he admitted hesitantly and looked down at his hands. 

“Dan, don’t let it get you down. You’ve got an amazing job and so many people who support you, and you’re pretty much just getting started. Do you really want to give up now?” she asked, her hand on his. 

He thought about it. Making music was his dream and always had been, and he knew that he took for granted how well liked he was but at the same time… it was so tiring. He barely got a rest and was constantly overworked. He pushed the thought out of his mind with a sigh and a frown, lecturing himself that so many people had it worse than him and he should stop being such a brat about it. 

The heavy feeling still didn’t leave his chest as he said, “No.”  _ I guess not.  _

If you asked Dan if he was just saying that to bring the smile back to Ange’s face, he wouldn’t reply. He knew she relied on him for her job and it would be either nonexistent or lousy if Dan’s success wasn’t as impressive as it is. 

Before Ange could bring up anything else, the waiter came around with their meals and Dan took a mouthful of fries so he didn’t have to talk. 

After Dan had gone home and had a battle with his own mind while barely watching Bake Off, he grabbed his keys and coat and found himself walking the same way he had the day before. He left his phone on the couch, not worried if his assistant would find it. He didn’t exactly trust her not to look at the screen, but she wouldn’t find anything anyway. He turned off notifications as if he turned them on, his phone would blow up with information. She didn’t know his passcode anyway. 

Dan pushed his sunglasses up his nose and looked up, knowing he was approaching the small cafe. Dan stopped just before he reached the windows of the place. Was this too much? What if the cafe was really busy and people recognised him? The place would be torn down to rubble. 

He hesitated then shook the ridiculous thoughts out of his mind. It was fine, he convinced himself half-heartedly and entered the cafe. He was pushed aside by some guy who could have walked straight out of an Australian surf magazine, his hair wavy and blonde and skin somehow tan despite all this dreary weather. The only thing out of place was the death glare he gave Dan when he pushed past, leaving Dan with wide open eyes. 

Dan turned to the barista, but his back way turned and he was leaning against the front counter, his hand to his forehead. 

Dan cautiously approached the counter, not wanting to frighten him. “Are you okay?” 

The barista whipped around and his expression wasn’t anything near the warmth and kindness it was yesterday, but it softened as soon as he saw it was Dan. “Oh, god. I’m so sorry.” 

Dan shook his head, “It’s okay.” 

“He’s… a dick, to put it lightly,” the barista’s eyes drifted down to the counter and his frown returned for a moment before it washed away again and he looked up. “What would you like?” 

“Surprise me,” Dan said and the barista smiled before turning and brewing up something that smelled wonderful. 

“So what made you decide to come back? I rarely have any regulars,” the barista said while he busied his hands. 

“Would you believe me if I said the coffee was good?” 

“Of course,” and although Dan couldn’t see it, a grin stretched across the barista’s face. 

Dan watched the muscles under his shirt flex and twist as the barista moved his arms, and Dan wondered how he had such defined muscles when he worked in a  _ cafe _ and there were treats and baked goods in front of him all the time. 

He didn’t know how long he had been staring, so when the barista spun back around and paused for a second, it took Dan a few more to realise he’d slipped out of reality and a deep blush spread across his face when the barista called him back, a giggle escaping his lips. 

The barista passed the drink to Dan and he took a sip quickly, burning his tongue in the process but barely noticed. The guilty look dropped from his face as it twisted into surprise and wonderment. “This is really good,” he said and the barista let out a sigh of relief. 

“Yeah?” he said and Dan nodded enthusiastically. 

“This is the best coffee I’ve ever  _ had _ ,” Dan said and he was happy to be the one who put the bemused but ecstatic smile on the barista’s face. 

The barista opened his mouth to say something when the bell at the door rang, and they both looked to the door to see the Australian-surfer-guy walk in. He looked calmer but still aggravated and when Dan turned back to the barista, a sour look replaced the smile that made Dan’s insides tingle. 

The guy looked between Dan and the barista accusingly, and Dan picked up his coffee. 

“Thank you,” Dan said and pulled a tenner out of his pocket, putting it on the counter. 

“No, it only cos-” the barista started but Dan shook his head. 

“It’s okay, keep it,” he said and turned to leave, pulling his hoodie over his curls and going through the door, throwing somewhat of a ‘good luck’ smile over his shoulder before walking back to his apartment, ordering pizza while he walked. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, it took awhile for me to figure out where to take the chapter and I'm not too happy with it but it's not my worst work. 
> 
> Hope you liked it :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if there are any grammatical/spelling errors, I wanted to post it ASAP.

_ Dan slowly awoke and turned to his window to see it was still dark out. He felt himself out of bed, trying not to fall over anything while he walked to his bathroom. He made it and only seemed to stumble once. He flicked on the light then used the toilet and went to the sink to wash his hands, when he realised something was wrong.  _

_ His hands were bruised in all sorts of places and he stared at them as the purple, yellow and green bruises seemed to move and twist. He looked up to the mirror to see him, but 6-year-old him.  _

_ His 6-year-old reflection didn’t mirror the same shocked expression Dan had on his face, but instead looked accusingly back up at him. His youth had a black eye and a yellow bruise streaked across his cheek. His bottom lip was split and his eyes were red and puffy, some unfallen tears threatening to spill.  _

_ “Help me,” his reflection said in a young, wobbly voice and the tears began to fall. “Help me!”  _

_ Dan stumbled back as his reflection jumped toward him, seeming as though it would come out of the mirror. Distantly, a door slammed and heavy footsteps approached.  _

_ “Daniel?! Where are you?” he heard his father shout and Dan’s throat began to close up.  _

_ His hands shook wildly and his breaths became shaky and irregular before he felt he was gasping for air but his constricting throat wouldn’t let him take the deep breaths he was trying to gulp.  _

_ The footsteps came closer and something grasped his shoulders from behind.  _

Dan awoke and was gasping for air, not dissimilar to how he was in his dream. His assistant Amy was shaking him awake and let go as soon as he woke up. 

Tears were spilling from his eyes and he felt too hot, so he felt for his glass of water before Amy passed it to him and he downed the whole thing. 

“You scared me,” Amy said gently as she rubbed his back and he began sobbing, so she pulled him into her arms and held him tight while he came down. 

It took a while but he eventually calmed down. She offered him pancakes and he nodded, not because he was hungry (he was anything but), but so he could have some time to take his mind off it. 

A couple minutes after regaining his thoughts, Dan grabbed his phone and went through his social medias, checking up on everything. He put down his phone as soon as he realised he was going down a rabbit-hole and lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He watched the dust motes dance in the sunlight that managed to peek through the gaps of his blinds. 

His thoughts were mostly about new song lyrics and beats he could use, but they drifted to the barista. A smile stretched across Dan’s face while he thought of the quirky and adorable man with his goofy shirts and charming smile. 

His daydream was interrupted by his phone pinging. He looked at the screen and saw Ange was texting him about some meeting she had scheduled about meeting new dancers and stage crew they could recruit for his up-and-coming tour. 

He put his phone back down after shooting back a thumbs-up emoji and went to the kitchen. He made sure to steer clear of the bathroom, not wanting his mind to play any further tricks on him. 

Amy was just finishing up and set a coffee in front of him while he waited. He sipped it slowly and wished it was of the barista’s making, as it seemed he knew exactly what Dan wanted. Coffee-wise, of course. Dan dismissed any thoughts after that. 

He spent the day laying on his couch, watching TV and eating any snacks he could find in his kitchen cupboards. Amy offered to do anything she could for him but he told her to take the day off after she asked for the third time. He managed to pick himself up and go to his shower, taking time to gain the courage he needed to make it past his mirror and sink. He did, but he wouldn’t admit how long it took. 

The next week or so wasn’t too eventful, apart from taking a couple hours out of each day to either mingle with Ange or meet people. He felt exhausted every afternoon and never had time in the morning, so the small cafe didn’t cross his mind too much unless he was in meetings that seemed to drag on for hours when, in reality, they were only half an hour or so. 

Saturday was the first day he had off in a while, so of course he spent it sleeping in until noon. He only bothered to get up because Amy was reminding him to shower. He did and then pulled on skinny jeans and a black hoodie. He toed on some black zip-up shoes and told Amy he’d be back soon while he put on his sunglasses and fussed with his hair a bit in his hallway mirror. 

The walk to the cafe was shorter now he knew the way but the bone-chilling cold made it seem longer. He looked up from his feet when he was getting close to the cafe but stopped frozen in his tracks when he saw a line of paparazzi across the street, all mingling with each other outside the front of a hotel pub. Someone bumped into the back of him and Dan apologised profusely, turning around to see someone holding an expensive camera. The man looked pissed for a split second before his eyes widened and he grabbed his camera with his hands, not lifting it to his eyes but just holding where it hung from his neck. 

“Can I get a photo?” he asked desperately. 

Dan felt himself paling. He gulped and turned around, wondering whether to escape into the cafe before all hell broke loose and risk the swarm breaking down the glass just to get a decent shot or just leave the barista in peace and  _ run _ . 

He was clearly stuck in thought too long, as he heard snapping behind him and his blood ran cold. He pulled his hoodie up over his hair but not fast enough, as the paparazzi across the street all whipped their heads around at the sound of the camera and almost trampled over each other trying to get across the street before someone came to shield Dan and help him get away. 

_ Fuck,  _ Dan’s brain hissed and he’d have said it aloud if he wasn’t a panicking mess. Seeing a dozen or so people rushing toward him at the speed of light, not waiting for traffic was unsettling to put it lightly. 

He ducked his head down and speed-walked/bolted to the cafe door, pushing through and almost slamming it behind him, leaning against it to dissuade people from pushing through carelessly. The barista looked up from the till, looking as dazed as a couple of the other people who had come in for a coffee and a snack. His eyes widened as he watched the small crowd almost jump up against the window, and the snapping was deafening for Dan. The flashes were blinding and the other customers looked like deer in headlights. 

“Oh shit,” the barista mumbled under his breath, too quiet for anyone else to hear. 

He rushed out from behind the counter and flicked the lock on the door before tugging the curtains across the windows. 

“I’m so sorry,” Dan said immediately while the barista guided him to a table, worried about how pale and distressed he looked. 

“It’s absolutely fine,” the barista insisted. 

Dan slumped forward onto the table while the barista set about making a coffee for him. He brought it over while the cameras were still snapping and Dan sighed frustratedly. He took the coffee and gulped it down, wishing for it to calm down his stomach somehow. It was different to the others he’d had and equally, if not more delicious. 

Dan slipped off his hoodie and sunglasses. One of the other customers choked on their gulp of coffee when she looked over at him and had a coughing fit, eagerly trying to stifle it. The snaps outside had died down just a little but Dan knew they’d be waiting however long they needed to, staying overnight if they had to. 

“I’m so fucking sorry,” Dan said again, realising the barista had taken a seat next to him. He couldn’t meet the barista’s eyes. 

“It’s really okay, I promise,” he replied, not subsiding Dan’s guilt at all but instead replacing the gurgling feeling in his stomach to a bubbly one with the sympathetic smile he gave. He gave a small chuckle before saying, “I thought I knew you from somewhere but when you said you were a musician it didn’t click.” 

Dan smiled and shrugged. “You didn’t seem to recognise me and… it was a just breath of fresh air I guess. I should have said something, sorry.” 

“Stop apologising! I understand what you mean,” the barista gave another kind smile before someone asked how he’d leave. 

Although his tone was kind, Dan couldn’t help but feel some hint of underlying passive-aggressiveness. The barista was kind enough to take him out the ‘back door’ and instructed him where to go from there. 

Dan was thankful he didn’t bring his phone, because there was no doubt Ange would have somehow heard what happened or been curious to why he was suddenly going quiet after a full week of activity. It wasn’t out of the blue for Dan to disappear off social media and the sorts every once in a while, but she still worried. 

“You can stay however long you want. I doubt they’ll be moving soon,” he said and glared as if he could see right through the curtains. 

“Thank you,” Dan said. 

“Anytime,” he replied and their eyes met for longer than was necessary, though neither of them seemed to care. 

He went to stand but Dan stopped him. “Um, is there anything I can help with? I don’t really wanna sit here and be useless,” he smiled and chuckled nervously. 

“Are you sure?” the barista asked and Dan nodded. “Well I shouldn’t… but you could help me bake some things for a charity event?” 

_ God, he couldn’t be any more sweeter, could he? _ “Ooh, yes!” Dan exclaimed excitedly and the barista giggled and gestured for Dan to follow him. 

Dan was led behind the portière to a kitchen that smelt like all sorts of sweet things and Dan automatically felt like his face was being slapped by the aromas. They all smelled wonderful though, and Dan recognised the same smell clung to the barista’s clothes. The barista brought him to a benchtop covered with multiple recipes that all had complicated names for simple things, not that Dan would have known they were anything close to simple. They sifted through a couple recipes before Dan pointed to one that sounded familiar and easy; a ‘religieuse’. 

“Wasn’t that on Bake-Off?” Dan asked and the barista laughed. 

“It was, actually. My mum craved one ever since she saw it, and of course I had to make it for her,” the barista smiled, a twinkle in his eyes. 

The recipe was for a salted caramel and chocolate religieuse with vanilla cream. Dan’s mouth was already watering at just the description. 

Dan helped the barista make them, and his eyes widened at how much of everything they had to use and how the barista had it all and more ‘in the storage room’. He was impressed by the barista’s patience when Dan accidentally measured wrong or added the wrong thing, but the barista was quick to notice and explain why the measurements of salt and sugar shouldn’t be swapped. Before long, the customers began leaving one-by-one and it was dark out by the time they’d finished baking and the cafe was empty. 

Dan had had an absolute blast and his stomach hurt from laughing. The barista was always making stupid puns and telling Dan ridiculous stories, but Dan did the same and the barista was having as much fun as Dan was. 

They put their hundreds of religieuses in the massive fridge and cleaned up, when Dan started laughing. He tried to stop but he ended up with a red face and his hands clutching his aching sides. 

“What? What is it?” the barista asked, paranoid but a smile beginning to form on his face too. 

“You’re absolutely  _ ‘caked’  _ in flour,” he managed to say between giggles and the barista looked at his jeans, seeing white handprints all over them and bursting into laughter at the horrible pun. 

The barista didn’t mention most of the handprints were on his ass, but he certainly put the thought away for later.  _ It was just noticeable,  _ he told himself in the meanwhile. 

“You are too!” the barista said and pointed to Dan’s face, that indeed had flour all over it. Most likely remnants from when they started throwing it at each other while they waited for the pastry to bake. 

Dan looked at his once-black sleeves and huffed. “I look like someone who dropped whatever they were gonna snort all over themselves,” he mumbled and more giggles filled the kitchen. 

“My apartment’s upstairs, I’ll lend you a jumper… and some jeans,” the barista smiled. 

“Thank you,” Dan said and smiled sheepishly. 

He followed the barista through the storage room and up a crowded hall of stairs to a door. He promptly unlocked it and shuffled over so Dan could come in. Dan immediately noticed the decor was similar to the cafe, if not even more adorable. There were figurines of all sorts of characters Dan did and didn’t recognise and posters everywhere of either art or bands that Dan knew and loved. 

They walked straight down the hall to the last door on the left and the barista pushed through to reveal a white room with light wood flooring. The bedding and framed pictures were all a dark, calm blue and Dan noticed a laptop in the corner on a desk. It looked like it came straight out of an interior designing magazine and Dan had to blink a few times to make sure his eyes weren’t deceiving him. 

“Did you design all this?” Dan asked incredulously and the barista smiled. 

“Is it good? I spent way too much time on it if I’m being honest,” he smiled and walked to his built-in wardrobe. 

“It’s awesome. My flat looks like  _ nothing _ compared to this, and I paid people!” 

The barista chuckled while he rummaged through his closet. “I could hire you as a sous-chef and you could hire me as an interior designer,” he said with glowing confidence. 

Dan walked up and felt the soft fabric of the throw blankets and instantly wanted it. Before he could figure out how to take it without the barista noticing, he’d spun around and laid out some black jeans and a black jumper with roses crawling up the sleeves. 

“I love this. I’m going to steal it until I find an identical one,” Dan said and the barista laughed. 

“You can have it, don’t worry about replacing it. My parents constantly buy me things and I have to do a monthly clean-out by the end of every month,” he said. “The bathroom’s right across the hall, take as long as you need.” 

“Thanks,” Dan said and took the clothes across the hall. 

He closed the bathroom door behind him while he marvelled at the decor. It was reasonably sized and was white tiled. There was a white, vintage bath but also a large built-in shower in the corner. The mirror above the sink was pristinely clean and the sink had all sorts of gift-wrapped toiletries on it. All the gift tags were still on and the boxes looked like they’d never been opened. There was also an assortment of small houseplants lined along the windowsill, some green and thriving and some browning along the leaves. 

Dan laid the clothes on his toilet while he changed. The rose jumper smelled different to the store but was still sweet; something along the lines of cinnamon and vanilla. The jeans were tight but fit nicely and Dan was thankful that the barista and him were relatively the same sizes. 

He folded up his dirty clothes and left the bathroom, hearing the barista shuffling things around towards the other end of the apartment. Dan walked through the hall, taking in the art and such and chuckled to himself when he saw there were more plants on either side of the hall table. He saw a pile of flyers on the table and a sticky note attached to the top, reading  _ ‘Hey Phil, these are flyers for the event. Pass them out and hang them up! Lou xx’. _

_ Phil _ . So that’s what his name was. Although it wasn’t ever the name Dan would guess he had, it suited him. 

Dan continued towards the end of the hall and stopped at the archway that revealed a living room, of which Phil was rummaging through the coffee table drawers. 

“Where’s my damn phone,” he mumbled underneath his breath, frustrated. 

Dan chuckled, and Phil smiled too. “Why would your phone be in  _ there _ ?” 

“I was playing board games with people last night… I had my phone this morning but you never know.” 

Dan shook his head, still laughing. “Would it still be in the kitchen?” 

“Hm… maybe,” he said and pushed the drawer back in before standing. “Are you hungry? We could get takeout and watch a movie… or play board games?” 

Dan smiled. “Okay.” 

Amy would probably be worried and he had no doubt his phone was blowing up, but it was in his bed and he decided not to worry. His makeup artists always said he was too wrinkled, anyway. 

Dan was instructed to make himself at home while Phil went back downstairs to look for his phone, which was buried under a couple trays. Dan sunk into the plush couch while he waited, once again envious of the quality the furniture was. He admired the vibrant colours that contrasted heavily but still tied the place together. The room smelled like a whole candle shop and he saw the three sources of the smell burning in a line on the coffee table. 

Dan took a cab back to his flat, thankful to find it empty. Amy would have gone home much earlier. He fell asleep with a light feeling in his chest and Phil’s number scrawled down on a piece of paper in his pocket (“Just so something like that doesn’t happen again… I don’t want you to get hurt,” Phil said with a shy grin and Dan had beamed in response). 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise to add more substance to chapters, not doing much atm anyway loll
> 
> Have a lovely day everyone! :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if there are any spelling/grammatical errors, I wanted to get this out before three weeks turned into a month (I'm so sorry!).

“That was great, but we need some more, uh,  _ emotion _ , okay?” 

“Okay,” Dan replied, turning back to the microphone and gritting his teeth. He saw Ange give a sympathetic look and he flashed a fake smile that lasted a second. 

If Dan had the power and courage to leave, he would have five minutes into the recording session. He didn’t even care that the whole damn session was non-refundable, the people instructing him were irritating and just there to take his money. There’d been similar situations, where people just made Dan storm out so they could get money off him for rebooking and he’d had to pay for two sessions instead of one. It was all a great big game for them. 

The director told him where to go from, and Dan sang as soon as the music was up to the line he was reading. He was halfway through the verse when they stopped him again. 

The music cut off and Dan stopped mid-word, trying not to fume. “What now?” 

“You’re still not putting enough into it,” the woman at the switchboard said into the microphone. 

As soon as she lifted her finger off the microphone, one of the people standing around said something and everyone in the room except for Ange laughed and Dan knew they were messing with him. 

He closed his eyes and leaned back, taking the headphones off that were making his ears sore. He sat there for a good five minutes until Ange had been told to go into the booth and talk to him. 

She tapped his shoulder and his eyes opened lazily. “What?” 

“I know it’s difficult to work with them, but you have to,” she said. 

He sighed and closed his eyes again. “Can we just go?” 

The microphone was picking up everything they were saying and they both knew but barely cared. Ange just needed this recording over and done with so Dan could go home and relax and the studio had something new to publish under his name. 

“It’s only a single, if we went right now we’d have to pick it up another day and come back,” she told him. “You’re almost done, just a couple more verses. They’re gauging how you work and they won’t need much longer and then it’ll be a breeze from there.” 

Dan huffed. “Fine.” 

He knew he was being a diva but he was fed up and just wanted to go chill out, maybe go get a coffee at Phil’s. The entire week had taken up all his time again and he was exhausted. 

Ange squeezed his shoulder and went back to the recording booth. The people were barely better for the next two hours of recording and Dan had no doubts it was because of his attitude but he could barely care. As soon as he and Ange walked out of the building he thought he’d feel much better but he didn’t. 

“Do you want to go out for a coffee?” she asked him. 

“Not really, but I’ll take a raincheck,” he said and she nodded. 

She drove him straight back to his flat and he drifted off as soon as he flopped onto his couch. 

He woke up to a completely dark and cold apartment. He shivered before getting up and rushing to turn the heating on and grabbing a robe. He kicked his jeans off and pulled on some trackies instead before going to the kitchen for some sort of midnight snack. 

He looked through his kitchen but didn’t find anything he could throw together and just nibble with no preparation effort required and groaned at himself. He was one of the wealthiest in this area and yet had no snacks at all. 

After a few moments of standing in his kitchen and staring mindlessly and intensely at a kitchen magnet, he shook himself out of his daze and went to the couch to grab his phone. 

He had already saved Phil’s number but hadn’t actually texted him yet, too busy (or nervous) to in the past week. He also didn’t want to pester Phil by creating too much chaos outside the cafe again, as if it happened a second time it’d be so much worse. 

His finger lingered over the  _ ‘Phil’  _ contact and before he could think too much into it, he sent a simple ‘hey :)’ and threw his phone back down before the text even went through. 

Suddenly needing the toilet, he went and came back to a text already lighting up his phone screen. 

_ Phil: hello _

_ Phil: sorry, I don’t have your contact saved?  _

_ Dan: it’s dan  _

_ Phil: oh, right! Hello! :) _

__ Dan couldn’t help the involuntary smile. He didn’t even know why it appeared but wasn’t mad, instead the fluttery feeling was in his chest again. 

_ God I’m a loser,  _ Dan thought but instead texted: ‘ _ Are you busy tonight? I’m bored’. _

__ He wasn’t particularly bored but he knew he would be if he lounged around. Especially since he had slept more than a few hours and couldn’t go back to sleep if he tried. 

_ Phil: i’ve actually got something on tonight. there’s a follow up night for the charity thingy we made those religieuses for _

_ Dan: oh cool! that’s alright i’ll swing by tomorrow then  _

_ Dan: if that’s okay  _

_ Phil: of course! :^)  _

_ Phil: i’ve gotta go now but i’ll talk later?  _

_ Dan: sure, have fun  _

__ Dan put down his phone. He would have asked if he could have come but he was still pretty worn out from the recording. Besides, he didn’t want to follow Phil around like some sort of puppy. 

So instead of wallowing in his self-pity, Dan turned on the TV and his PS4 and settled in for a night of gaming. 

A few hours after playing _ Red Dead Redemption II _ , Dan’s phone lit up with a message. He finished his objective before pausing and checking the notification, turning down the brightness first as to not burn his retinas. 

_ Phil: hey, you awake?  _

Dan debated texting back for two seconds before thinking to hell with it and answered. 

_ Dan: hello and yep  _

_ Phil: i thought i was the only one awake in the whole of London lmao _

_ Phil: so wuu2 since my presence has been missed?  _

_ Dan: oh yes so dearly missed _

_ Dan: i’ve been mourning the world’s loss wondering if you’d ever text back  _

_ Dan: it got cold being sad on my balcony so i came inside  _

_ Phil: you have a balcony?? I’m jealous :( _

_ Dan: it just makes it easier for people to spy on me if i’m trying to get sun haha  _

_ Phil: you get SUN?  _

_ Dan: tbh i’d much rather your apartment  _

_ Phil: wanna swap?  _

_ Dan: sure lmao  _

__ Dan was now grinning goofily, his game forgotten and the warning message of the console automatically switching off in five minutes going unnoticed. 

_ Dan: so how was the event?  _

_ Phil: it was amazing!! we raised so much and it went really well :)  _

_ Dan: nice! i’ll make sure to make a donation next time  _

_ Phil: you don’t have to (but it’d be greatly appreciated haha)  _

_ Phil: you could totally come next time tho. they’re about every third or fourth week depending on the hosts’ schedules and it’s so much fun  _

_ Dan: oo you’ll have to smuggle me in  _

_ Phil: haha i’m sure they’d let you in, they loved our religieuses and my friends want to meet you  _

__ Dan felt uneasy at this. When people wanted to meet him they were usually either  _ too  _ keen or very judgmental. At least if Phil got along with them, they’d have to be decent, right? 

Dan chewed his bottom lip while thinking of an answer but he didn’t have to, as Phil was already typing. 

_ Phil: not as in they’re like, really looking forward to it like stalkers  _

_ Phil: wait that sounds mean  _

__ Dan chuckled and shook his head. 

_ Dan: haha it’s cool. i’m up for meeting them whenever :)  _

_ Phil: we’re having a board games night on Sunday actually if you wanna come to that  _

_ Phil: it’s at my place around 8 but if you’re coming be like 5 minutes late haha _

_ Dan: cause i’ll seem cooler? am i not already cool enough  _

_ Phil: no!! it’s not that!! we take a while setting up is all  _

_ Dan: ohh okay haha  _

_ Dan: i’m pretty sure i’m free Sunday but i’ll check and get back to you  _

_ Phil: all good  _

_ Phil: i’m going to head to bed now, good night :^)  _

_ Dan: k, night :)  _

__ Dan put aside his phone with a grin that lasted until he drifted back to sleep an hour or so later after a couple episodes of some Netflix show he hadn’t even seen the name of. 

Dan woke at 6, which was extremely early for him. After a few seconds of trying to go back to sleep he deemed it hopeless and got up for the day. 

Amy would be here in half an hour or so and she’d probably have their breakfast, so it’d be nice to have it fresh instead of reheated for once. 

Dan got ready for the day by dressing head to toe in black and spending the rest of his time fussing with his hair to try to tame it. When Amy arrived he left it like it was and walked down to greet her. 

“Who are you and what have you done with Daniel?” she asked when she looked him up and down, impressed he was awake and dressed. 

Dan ignored her quip and took the bag she offered to him. It had a croissant in it and he thanked her before insisting she sat down and he got their coffee and plates. She hesitantly took a seat behind the breakfast bar and they spoke while the coffee brewed. 

“So how’d filming go yesterday?” she asked him. 

He shrugged and picked at his pastry, tasting a little and deciding it wasn’t horrible but Phil could do better. “They were shit. I was just putting up with them so Ange wouldn’t get mad.” 

“Huh,” Amy replied. “That bad?” 

Dan nodded. “I don’t know. At least the song will sound good.” 

“Yeah, I heard the studio’s really good at production and all that.” 

The coffee machine beeped and Dan poured them both and prepared them how they liked before taking a seat next to Amy and munching while they spoke. 

“So, I met this guy. He’s really sweet and nice and… I want you to meet him,” Amy said with a smile and Dan cocked an eyebrow while taking a sip of his coffee. 

“Did you meet on Tinder?” Dan asked when he didn’t have a mouthful of coffee. 

“No, we were friends back in high school and he recently added me back on Instagram,” she said nervously, nibbling at her croissant instead of looking at Dan. 

“And… you’re sure about this?” Dan asked, trying to find the right words. 

“Well I’m scared as fuck but… I think so. Yeah,” she said and grinned as she thought about it. 

Dan exhaled. “As long as you’re sure and happy.” 

“So you’ll meet him?” 

“If you want me to. I’m busy tonight though.” 

“Okay. How about Tuesday? I think he works Monday nights.” 

“Sure,” Dan said and smiled despite the worry in his stomach, which felt like it was eating him alive. Because of Amy’s past relationships, he was worried for her but he also wanted to trust she knew she could do better. 

“What about you? What’s on tonight?” she asked. 

Dan picked at his croissant and shrugged. “I’m meeting a new friend.” 

Amy wouldn’t have thought anything of it, but she realised his smile was a touch giddy and the rosy patch on his jawline was reddening. “Is that so?” she asked, raising an eyebrow and looking at him with a smirk. “Are you hiding something from me Howell?” 

Dan picked up his mug and hid his mouth behind it while he smiled. “No.” 

She gave him a skeptical look. “Sure, sure.” 

As much as Amy wanted to bombard Dan with questions, she knew he’d tell her eventually. They both picked at their croissants and drank their coffees in a comfortable silence Dan didn’t really have with anyone else. 

“His name’s Phil,” Dan said after a while. 

They had nearly finished their breakfast now, and Amy looked up with a surprised look. “You’re thinking of dating again?” 

Dan, too, had also experienced difficult relationships in his past and it had been well over a few years since he committed to someone. 

Dan smiled confidently. “I mean, who knows if he feels the same way but… yeah. I think so.” 

Amy couldn’t contain her excitement for him and let out a squeal that got an angry knock from behind the kitchen wall, no doubt where a neighbour’s bedroom was. She clapped her hands over her mouth but her excitement had travelled to her eyes. 

“Shut up,” Dan said coyly, hiding his mouth with his now empty coffee cup again. 

“We should have a double date! Oh my god, are you going to his tonight? Does Ange know?” she quizzed, removing her hands from her mouth but still speaking in a hushed voice, not trusting herself to keep quiet if she resumed back to her normal tone. 

“I haven’t told Ange yet. I just… this is something for  _ me _ , y’know? I feel like if I tell her she’d try to protect me but Phil’s different to my past partners.” 

Amy nodded along to everything he said. “I get what you mean.” 

“Mhmm. But yes, I’m going to his tonight if Ange doesn’t already have something in my schedule.” 

“And what are you gonna do?” she asked, wiggling her eyebrows and earning a light shove from Dan. 

“Just a board games night. Apparently he has them on Sundays with his friends.” 

“You’re meeting his friends? Oh my god Dan,” she said and clapped quickly. 

“I’m just meeting his friends. That’s all,” Dan said. 

“Alright, well you still haven’t told me about him,” Amy said and sat back in her bar stool. 

“He does work for charity and is really, really nice. He has these glasses that are clear-framed and his eyes are all sorts of colours, like, blue and green and yellow at the same time? And he has brown hair that he sometimes dyes black and he makes the  _ best _ coffees,” Dan said, thankful he finally had someone to gush to. 

“Calm down champ,” Amy giggled, not wanting to stop him but still wanting him to take a breath. “A presumably-Englishman that makes coffee instead of tea?” 

“He’s a barista slash baker, that’s how we met,” Dan said. “But oh my god, everything he makes is perfect and so amazing.” 

“Now I  _ need _ to meet him.” 

After they thought was a bit more small talk, they saw the clock read 8am and decided to get up and be productive. Dan messaged Ange asking if they had anything on and Amy went about doing some cleaning that Dan assisted with while he waited for Ange’s reply. With Dan helping, the two got everything done within an hour and Dan checked his phone to see Ange had given him the all clear for today, but reminded him that tomorrow he was needed for seeing how the new single had gone. 

Amy and Dan decided to settle down and watch movies to pass the time until lunch. When it roughly hit 1, they called an Uber and went down to a fancy Italian restaurant to eat that Amy recommended. 

Dan went back to his flat alone but the company from Amy had lifted his spirits majorly (not that he was down in the dumps, but worried about what the night ahead of him would be like). It was around four and Dan messaged Phil letting him know he could come before taking his time to get ready. In a way, Dan was glad he started so early as most of his clothes were in desperate need of a wash and/or iron. 

After ironing half a dozen shirts and deciding to change them, he finally settled on a plain white shirt and a red jacket that he recalled he got from an Adidas sponsorship. Why a sports company would sponsor him, he had no clue. He stuck with his black jeans. 

He checked his phone and saw Phil had replied with a thumbs up and a smiley before going to spray his hair with all sorts of nonsense and brush his teeth. 

Once he had finished it was 5:30 and so he sat and watched a show someone tweeted about for a bit before he got bored and scrolled through his fandom forums, liking the occasional art or edit here and there. He enjoyed reading the ‘proof’ that his profile  _ was  _ him and just not a fan who wanted the fame. 

Before long, he glanced at the time and saw it was close to 8, so he checked his hair and clothes and called an Uber. He was dropped off a couple streets up so he could go the back way, but also so he wasn’t too early. 

When he arrived at Phil’s back entrance he had to knock a couple times before someone answered. It was a male around Dan’s age with curly hair that was a bit longer than Dan’s. His polite smile made Dan think back instantly to Phil and this made the nerves in his stomach subside slightly. 

“Hello! You must be Dan?” the man said and stuck out a hand. 

Dan smiled and shook it. “That’s me.”

“I’m PJ, it’s fantastic to finally meet you,” he replied and beckoned for Dan to follow him into the building and up the stairs. 

Dan wondered what he meant by ‘finally’ but didn’t have much time to, because as soon as they walked into Phil’s lounge the various faces looked up and smiled at him, all eager to introduce themselves and acquaint themselves with Dan. 

Dan studied the faces; another guy called Chris who had brown hair and a smaller face but still fairly tall, a female named Louise who had a warm grin that showed a slight gap between her front teeth, a much shorter female with an Irish accent called Hazel, a man with glasses called Tom and finally, a small but somehow very buff male with glasses as well called Tyler. 

They all had glowing smiles that only friendly people could express, so the nerves in Dan’s stomach finally ceased into excitement. 

PJ led Dan to sit on the floor opposite of everyone else who had all taken up the couch and the places beside it. Dan noticed they had drinks in their hands and before he could think of asking for one, Phil appeared at the lounge room door and when he saw Dan, smiled amicably. 

“You want a drink?” Phil asked over the chatter between the others. 

“What is there?” Dan replied and Phil gestured for Dan to follow him.

He stood up and followed Phil to the kitchen, where various wines, a couple of vodkas and a whiskey were laid out. 

“Shit, I should have brought something,” Dan said under his breath. 

“No no, it’s okay. God knows this is enough for everyone,” Phil said and nodded towards the alcohol. “We never finish everything.” 

“So that’s why you invited me,” Dan said with a joking tone. 

Phil returned it. “Yep. We need another drinking buddy.” 

They laughed lightly before Dan asked for red wine and Phil happily delivered as well as pouring one for himself. They walked back to the lounge and Dan sat back beside PJ and Phil took the space on the other side. 

Everyone already seemed deep in conversation but before Dan could listen in, Phil nudged him. 

“Thank you for coming,” he said relatively quietly. 

“It’s alright,” Dan replied and smiled warmly. 

They turned back to everyone else and Dan took a sip of his wine, glad he had something to keep himself busy. He didn’t have to worry about seeming awkward though, because Tyler asked for his opinion on the topic they were discussing and it was a fun conversation. 

The night had gone by a blur and Dan’s cheeks and stomach were sore from smiling and laughing so much. He’d never met people as kind, wacky and entertaining as this particular group. 

After debating what words were allowed in Scrabble to raging over Cluedo, the night had now turned to Never Have I Ever. 

Tom had gotten the vodka and poured shots for everyone to take if they had indeed done the prompt. 

A few safe rounds went by with only a few people taking their shots and refilling before it gradually became more not safe for work. 

Chris was the first to jump into the deep end; “Never have I ever had sex with the same gender.” 

Only a few people drank, Dan included. He also saw from the corner of his eye that Phil downed his shot too. 

_ Huh, _ Dan thought. He left it at that. 

“Ooh! Never have I ever skinny dipped!” Hazel blurted, her irish accent only slightly slurred even if she was the lightweight and had drunk the most. 

Again, Dan drank and some others did too. Not Phil though. 

“I’ll take you sometime,” Dan joked and nudged Phil, which got a few laughs and a whistle from Tyler. Phil just smiled and shook his head. 

“Never have I ever… sucked someone’s toes,” Louise said.

Tyler was the only one to drink and the group teased and jeered at him before moving on. 

“Never have I ever screwed around in an elevator,” Chris said. 

The majority drank except for Hazel and Chris. 

“To what extent?” Hazel asked. 

“From kissing to getting sucked off,” he said. 

She shrugged and drank, leaving Chris to be poked fun at but he defended himself well enough. 

“Dan, you go!” Louise said.

Dan looked fixedly at his shot while he thought. He didn’t want to be too provocative but at the same time it was fun to see who had done what. It was also hard to think of something he  _ hadn’t  _ done. 

“Never have I ever done it with someone 8 or more years older,” Dan decided on. 

“That’s oddly specific,” Tom smiled and raised an eyebrow while only a few drank and refilled their glasses. 

“It was with someone 7-and-a-bit years older,” Dan said, smiling sheepishly even though he didn’t feel guilty. 

“Never have I ever faked an orgasm,” PJ called out, saving Dan from further teasing. 

Everyone except PJ drank and they all began complaining about the partners or one night stands that were lazy. When Phil went to fill the glasses back up, only a few were able to be topped before the bottle was empty. 

By now everyone was either losing the feeling in their legs or nearly dozing off. 

A final elimination was ordered by Chris who made the rule that the last person to drink to a question was the winner. Only Dan, Phil and PJ were left. 

“Never have I ever gotten a BJ while driving,” Tyler said with an evil look on his face. 

PJ drank and left Dan and Phil. 

“It’s on,” Phil said, smiling with a confident look on his face. 

“You’ve got no chance,” Dan replied, saying the exact opposite in his mind. 

“Never have I ever done it in a hot tub,” Louise said. 

“Well fuck,” Dan said under his breath and downed his last shot, barely wincing as it travelled down his throat. 

“Aha! I stand victorious!” Phil cheered and stood before downing his shot. 

After the chatter and excitement calmed down, Louise, Tyler and Hazel dibbed Phil’s bed. 

“I’m having the spare room then,” PJ said while he stood too fast and almost toppled over onto Dan. 

“Not if I get there first,” Chris smiled and darted out of the lounge room with PJ right on his tail. 

“I’m gonna call a taxi and leave you two the couches,” Tom said, but not making a move to get off the couch. 

“Are you sure? I could get the spare mattress,” Phil offered. 

“No one’s sober enough to get it without one of your frames or candles getting smashed,” Tom said and shook his head. “It’s cool. I’ll come help clean up in the morning.” 

“Thanks,” Phil said. “Night.” 

“Good night,” Dan smiled. 

“Night, good to meet you Dan,” Tom said and returned the smile. 

“You too.” 

Tom made his way out of the front door while Dan picked up all the glasses off the floor. 

“No, you shouldn’t,” Phil said, either too drunk or tired to protest properly. 

“It’s fine, I don’t want to stand on any with my massive feet and do more damage to the floorboards than myself,” Dan said while he grabbed the last glass and set it on the coffee table. 

He grunted while he stood. 

“I’ll go get the extra blankets. You want any pyjamas?” Phil asked. 

Dan shook his head. “Nah. It’ll be too warm. Want help?” 

“Sure.” 

They walked out of the lounge and Phil barely took any notice of the noise coming from presumably the spare bedroom and instead opened the hallway cupboard. He took out a gray fluffy blanket for each of them. 

“You can go take your jeans off in the bathroom and leave them in there if you want. No one’ll bother touching them,” Phil said. 

“Alright, thanks,” Dan said and gave Phil one of the blankets after he had closed the cupboard. 

Dan went to the toilet and took his jeans and hoodie off, covering his moderate nudity with the blanket before going back to the dark lounge and flopping onto the vacant couch. He giggled when he looked over at Phil, who was sprawled across the ther couch with his eyes already shut. 

“You’ve got a great sleeping face,” Dan teased. 

“Oh shush,” Phil replied, huffing. 

“Phil himself, too tired to come up with a comeback? Impossible!” 

“Stop bullying me!” Phil whined but the smile on his face was hard to miss. 

“It’s my revenge,” Dan replied and, minding the others in the flat most likely already asleep, quietly laughed evilly. 

Phil didn’t reply so Dan snuggled into the blanket, happy to be enveloped by the strange yet wondrous smells of various scents and not quite tired yet, as walking around made him reluctantly wake up a bit. 

“Hey Dan?” Phil asked softly. 

“Yeah?” 

“You suck,” he whispered before evidently drifting off. 

Dan snorted and lay awake for another few minutes before falling asleep himself. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to all the Irish out there... I definitely played on a stereotype there. 
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Stay safe :)


	5. Chapter 5

“Your hair’s all frizzy,” Phil whispered, waking Dan. 

Dan groaned and stretched, his back relatively sore from sleeping on the couch. “Don’t tell me,” he said sleepily and opened his eyes to see an already dressed Phil was on his knees in front of him, holding a mug of coffee. 

He offered the mug to Dan and Dan took it gratefully, sitting up so he didn’t spill it everywhere. He blew on it a couple times before taking a sip and thanking Phil. 

“It’s alright. The others won’t be up for a couple hours yet and I wanted to make coffee for someone,” he said and stood. “I also didn’t know if you were doing anything today, so I wanted to wake you up before it got really late.” 

“What’s the time?” Dan asked. 

“A little after ten,” he replied. 

“Oh, well thank you. I don’t have anything today though,” Dan said and looked around the trashed lounge room. “You need help?” 

“No, you can go back to sleep,” Phil said but Dan wasn’t taking ‘no’ for an answer anyway. 

He remembered his jeans were in the bathroom and covered himself with the blanket again, putting his mug on the coffee table. “I’ll go put my jeans on and come help.” 

It didn’t take long for the both of them to clear away the mess and once they were done, Dan joined Phil downstairs to help during the late morning rush. 

Phil had given Dan a pair of sunglasses that helped hide his identity just a little while he served up pastries and pies. It didn’t seem like the businessmen and interns rushing in and out took much notice of him anyway. 

“Sorry if everyone was pretty nosy last night,” Phil said while they were washing dishes in the kitchen. 

“It was fun, don’t worry about it,” Dan replied with a smile to reassure him. 

“Are you sure? I can tell them to take it down a bit if you want…” he said and stopped scrubbing the blue mug in his hands. 

“I’m sure, honestly. They were just sussing me out, I’d do the same if I didn’t know me. Especially cause I’m… y’know, of my profession and all,” Dan said and looked up at Phil when he realised he was still staring intensely at the mug instead of washing it. 

Dan placed a hand on his shoulder and said Phil’s name, and that seemed to wake him up from wherever he was. “Sorry, I just… Sorry,” he apologised and shook his head as if he was ridding thoughts from it and went back to washing. 

Dan wanted nothing more than to know exactly how to reassure Phil but before he could think of ways to, they heard calling and the muffled sound of fast feet down the stairs. Peej and Chris burst out from the door and Dan pulled his hand away quickly before it was squashed by the two jumping on Phil. 

“Did you make us pancakes?” Chris asked in between giggles while PJ tried to calm himself from the fit of laughter he was in. 

“If you got up earlier and helped me clean up like Dan did, maybe I would have,” Phil said with a smile and no sign of the previously intense stare he had. 

PJ whined and Chris huffed. 

“You can go get yourselves a muffin from the display but don’t touch the coffee machine, I’ll get them for you,” Phil said and they ran out of the kitchen, rushing to get the best muffin before the other could. 

“How much are you paid to babysit?” Dan asked with a smile and Phil chuckled. 

“Not enough.” 

Within the next hour or so, everyone else had woken up and either gone back home or stayed to hang out for a bit before leaving themselves. Eventually Dan was the only one still over and it was still pretty early in the afternoon, so customers were few and far between. They played card games and Dan helped bake treats to go on display with Phil laughing at his decorating. 

They fooled around and both had more fun than they had had in awhile. 

While they were playing Uno in front of the fireplace to keep warm from the early chill of November, Dan’s phone rang in his jeans and he left it for a few minutes until Phil had won the game and began reshuffling and dealing the cards. 

_ Ange: Hey Dan, the new single’s done. I haven’t heard it yet but they’ve sent it through and I want to hear it with you so lmk when you can drop by my office or apartment.  _

_ Dan: I could probably come around soon if you’re free?  _

_ Ange: I’m leaving my office in an hour or so but yeah I’ve only got paperwork to do.  _

_ Dan: K, I’ll come by soon.  _

_ Ange: 👍 _

“My manager just texted me asking if I could go meet up with her,” Dan said. 

Phil looked at the clock mounted above the back cabinet wall. “You’ve been here for ages.” 

They both stood and Dan smiled. “Thanks for inviting me, it was really fun.” 

“I’m glad you came,” Phil replied and smiled back. 

They both lingered for a second without realising and Dan said goodbye quickly before he felt it become awkward and walked out the back to Ange’s office. 

Dan’s voice cut out from the speakers and Ange looked up at him expectantly, a hopeful and satisfied smile on her face that dropped when she saw Dan’s frown. 

“They did it on purpose…” he muttered angrily, the messy parts of the song running through his mind over and over, almost as if they were taunting him on purpose. 

“Dan, it’s  _ really  _ fuckin’ good. I don’t know where you think the imperfections are but I love it, it’s definitely your best work so far.” 

“But… there were parts where the bass guitarist missed chords and the piano was cut off… and the bass is messy, I don’t know how they messed with  _ that _ .” 

Ange sighed and watched as Dan replayed the track, shaking his head at parts where an instrument was off or the wrong chord or key was played. He corrected lyrics he hadn’t pronounced properly in the song by mumbling and Ange shut it off before the last two verses could play. 

“Are you serious? It’s perfect, Dan. Your fans will  _ love  _ it, they’ll love anything you put out. The parts where some instrument messed up just adds to the emotion and vibe of it, alright?” 

“It’s messy craftsmanship and I’m not happy with it. I want to redo it,” Dan said, still staring at the computer, angry for how off-the-rails it had gone. 

“We don’t have the time or resources to, Dan,” Ange said, starting to get impatient. 

“Yes we do, I could have made a whole album if I wanted to but I only did a single, of course we have the time and resources,” he said, losing his patience too. 

“Daniel, we still have to make the music video and take photos for the cover. If we don’t finish the song today, the whole schedule will get fucked up.” 

“I’m sure you could push everything back, I’m not happy with it and we’re  _ not _ publishing it. I don’t care if we have fees to pay, I’ll pay them myself, I just want to make something I’m proud of,” Dan said. 

“For fucks sake, Dan,” Ange said, her hands coming up to her face to rub her eyes. “You cancelled so many songs on all of your other albums and weren’t happy with most of them, but look where you are! You’re admired by millions and all your tours sell out in  _ minutes _ .” 

“Exactly, imagine where I’d be if you let me rerecord or fix shit up myself,” Dan replied. “All you want from me is money. I just want to fucking redo a song so it can be what I want it to be.” 

“You’re not a fucking professional at everything in the music industry, why do you think I’m doing all of this for you? Making all these things happen for you?” 

“Oh but I am a fucking professional. I’m the one who can fire  _ you _ . I got myself through the first year and half of my career before you reached out to me. I’m fine by myself,” he spat, his knuckles going white from how tight he was clenching them. 

“Fine then,” Ange said, fire in her eyes. She pulled the USB stick out of her computer and threw it at his chest and he watched it fall to his feet, stunned. “Get out of my fucking office. Do it yourself. I don’t care. But  _ get out _ .”

Dan picked up the USB, hoping it hadn’t broken, and stormed out. By the time he got back to his apartment, he had cooled off a little but was still angry, so when he walked in and saw Amy vacuuming, he didn’t return her cheery hello and instead made a beeline for his bedroom. 

He tossed his phone and keys on his bed before taking his laptop over to his desk and putting the USB in. He plugged in his headphones and put them on before opening his laptop and playing it again. And again. And again. 

It wasn’t until he felt a tap on his shoulder that he jumped and was pulled out of his loop. He tugged his headphones off and looked up to see Amy looking down at him with a concerned gaze. 

“Are you okay? Did you and Phil have a fight?” she asked gently. 

“No, no. Phil and I are fine. It’s Angela,” Dan said, recoiling from his own voice when he said her name. 

“What happened? You can tell me.” 

“I know. It’s just… I don’t know. I’m not happy with this single and she said there wasn’t any time to redo it but I’m not happy with it at all. We had a fight and… well, she kicked me out of her office.” 

“Just because you wanted to rerecord?” Amy asked, a frown playing on her brow. 

Dan nodded and she looked at his computer screen. 

“May I hear it?” she asked. 

He passed her his headphones and she put them on, listening to the whole song. When it ended she passed the headphones back and nodded. 

“No offense but yeah, you could do much better. Take that as a compliment.” 

Dan smiled, albeit humourlessly. “I will.” 

He looked back down at his laptop and Amy hummed. “How about we go out for dinner together? Or we can eat in if you want, I think you have some wine and stuff in the cupboards. Just to take your mind off things and talk about boys while we eat and drink too much.” 

“You know me too well. Can we eat in? I don’t really want to go anywhere,” Dan replied and Amy nodded. 

While they ate, Amy had found a half-empty bottle of wine in the kitchen and the pair were sipping their glasses slowly while they spoke. Dan mostly discussed how he was thinking of approaching handling the album by himself and how he was excited he could work on it himself and be his own boss for the first time in a while. Amy offered her hand of help for whenever he needed it and spoke a bit about the guy she had met and the conversation slowly winded down. 

“So, how’d last night go? You still haven’t told me,” Amy said, cocking an eyebrow and sipping her wine inquisitively. 

“All of his friends are really nice and funny, we played a bunch of party games. That’s pretty much it,” he replied. 

“That’s  _ all  _ you’re going to tell me?” 

“There’s not much to tell, I’m sorry to break it to you,” he said with a smile. 

“There has to be something, c’mon! Nothing happened between you two?” 

“Nope. Well there were fifty thousand other people in the room, as if I’m going to make a move then. Besides, I needed to make a good impression so none of them hated me; they’re good people.” 

“Okay, I guess that makes sense.” 

“You ‘guess’? What did you want me to do? Start stripping out of nowhere and declare my love for him?” 

“If you’re going to do that let me know so I can be there to see it,” Amy giggled and Dan rolled his eyes. 

Dan looked down at his hands while he fiddled with his glass, setting it down on the coffee table after feeling a sudden disgust towards it. “I was thinking of asking him if he wanted to go out for lunch or something.” 

“Why haven’t you yet? You’ve known him for over a month and a bit so it’s not like it’s weird or creepy.” 

“Yeah but what if he says no? He’s seen what the press can do when they see me. I don’t want to expose him to it but it’d also be nice to go out somewhere with him. Don’t get me wrong, his caf é is cute and cosy but I want to go out and do something.”    
“I know what you mean. All you have to do is ask him if he wants to go for lunch or something. It can be casual or as a date, he’ll be the one to ask you.” 

“But what if he says no? What if he assumes it’s as friends?” 

“Then you can go as friends and drop hints. You’ve been friends for a while now, he’s probably wondering why you two  _ haven’t _ gone for a day out or something similar,” Amy put down her wine glass next to Dan’s and rubbed his arm to comfort him. “The worst thing to happen is for him to say he’s busy and wants to reschedule. You can go someplace the cameras won’t think to look so that you don’t have to stress about it. Or an anonymous tip can find its way into the media so they’re all looking in the complete wrong place…” 

Dan shook his head but a grin was adorning his face. 

“It’s not that difficult, trust me,” she smiled. “You will be absolutely fine. You’re overthinking it.” 

“Okay.” 

“Can I trust you to be alone for tonight? I’ve got a few things to do at home before you meet Luke tomorrow night.” 

“We’re meeting at your place?” 

“Yep, and you already agreed to it so you can’t get out of it,” she said. 

“I wasn’t planning to.” 

Amy stood up and Dan followed her to the door, helping her collect her things. 

She turned around to give him a hug which he promptly returned. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to wait up here for the taxi?” Dan asked. 

“It’s cool, I’ll get out of your hair. You have a lot to think about,” she said. “If you need help or anything just give me a call, yeah?” 

“I will, thank you.” 

“Anytime,” she said with a smile and exited his apartment, leaving Dan with the choice of cleaning up, starting work or going to bed. 

It wasn’t a difficult decision for him and five minutes later, he was in his pyjamas and drifting off. 

Dan woke up to the sound of a vacuum cleaner working away behind his closed bedroom door. He groaned and rubbed his eyes before turning on his phone and looking at the time. It was nearly noon and he turned on his wifi to see if he had any messages, which he did. 

He replied to Phil’s good morning and left the other messages to deal with for later and pulled himself out of the safety and warmth of his bedsheets to join Amy. 

He winced as he opened his door and the vacuum cleaner roared away. Amy had earphones in and when Dan tapped her on the shoulder, he could hear the familiar guitar solo from a Liam Gallagher song. Amy jumped at the contact of Dan’s hand to her shoulder and whipped her head around, looking relieved when it was Dan. 

“Christ Dan,” she said and smiled as she lightly shoved his shoulder before taking out her earphones and turning off the vacuum cleaner. 

“Is there any food?” 

“Of course that’s what you scare me for,” she replied and shook her head. “There’s a pastry and some coffee on the breakfast bar.” 

He nodded and made his way to the kitchen, not looking forward to the cold coffee. 

While he ate he scrolled through his Twitter and Instagram but grew bored quickly and just focused on his breakfast while he thought about things in general. Not too long after he finished his breakfast he heard the vacuum shut off and Amy joined him. 

“Planning on seeing Phil today?” 

“If he wants to then maybe. I do want to figure out how to do a studio set-up kind of thing for recording so I can record my song here.” 

“That’d be cool, I could ask some friends of mine who do some stuff on YouTube if you want?” 

“No, don’t worry about it. I want to figure it out for myself.” 

“Fair enough.” 

“How fancy is tonight going to be? What should I wear?” Dan asked, referring to meeting Amy’s new ‘friend’. 

“It’s not going to be a black tie and red wine event, it’s just so you can meet him,” she said smiling at the thought of him. 

“So jeans and a hoodie is okay?” 

“Yes, you can wear your jeans,” Amy said with an incredulous grin while rolling her eyes. “Speaking of, you should have a shower and get dressed. I haven’t finished cleaning yet.” 

“You don’t have to. Not like I’ll have anyone over tonight.” 

“Or ever.” 

“Shut up.” 

“If I don’t clean up it’ll be on my conscience, so go shower,” Amy said and made an act of shooing him away with her hands. 

“Okay, okay. I’m going.” 

“He was nice,” Dan said to Amy with a smile as soon as they heard the door shut. 

Amy was beaming and her cheeks were red from laughter and Dan guessed his were too. 

Luke was friendly and conversation flowed easily between the three of them. He kept making bad jokes but it was enough to have them all bent over laughing while they ate a nice lunch from Greggs with the TV on in the background. 

The hours flew by before Luke eventually had to go and now it was just Amy and Dan. 

“Yeah? He was nervous about meeting you ‘cause he wanted to make a good impression.” 

“You can let him know he did well,” Dan replied and felt his phone buzz in his pocket. 

He pulled it out and read over his notifications he’d missed while Amy stood and took the dishes to the kitchen sink. His eyes flicked over them carelessly until he got to his messages. His nan had texted asking if she could call him at some point and he replied then went into his messages with Phil to see 3 waiting messages. 

_ Phil: hey, r u free today?  _

_ Phil: or this evening  _

_ Phil: it’s fine if u aren’t  _

_ Dan: yeah i should be, what’s up?  _

_ Phil: oh cool  _

_ Phil: i was thinking we could do something  _

_ Dan: mariokart?  _

_ Phil: if you want. we always do that tho  _

_ Dan: what were you thinking  _

_ Phil: going out to get something for dinner maybe  _

_ Phil: if you don’t want to it’s fine  _

“Amy?” Dan asked, still staring at his phone screen. 

She hummed in response. 

“Phil wants to go out tonight.” 

She immediately stopped stacking her dishwasher and whipped around, rushing over to Dan. “Excuse me?” 

Dan showed her his text thread and she was smiling so widely it was a wonder her face didn’t split. 

“As a friend thing or a date?” Amy asked, buzzing. 

“I don’t know. What should I say?” 

“Do you want to go?” she asked and he nodded. “Then say yes.” 

_ Dan: sure, what time were you thinking?  _

_ Phil: around 5? Whatever suits u _

_ Dan: 5 is good _

__ “Well?” Amy asked. 

“He wants to go out around five,” Dan said uneasily. 

“Do you not want to?” 

“Of course I do. I’m just worried I’ll be weird. I mean, should I take something to give to him? What do we talk about? What do I wear?” 

“Wear something nice but not too formal. You know that black button up shirt you have? Yeah, wear that. Don’t take anything, for all you know it’s just a hangout with friends and as for the conversation, you’ll be fine. He’s probably just as nervous as you.” 

“Maybe,” Dan murmured. 

“It’ll be great, you’ll have so much fun. Stop worrying about it. Anticipation is always worse than the actual event.” 

“You’re right.” 

“I know,” she smiled and he did too and his phone buzzed. 

_ Phil: meet at mine?  _

_ Dan: okay, see u soon :) _

_ Phil: :) _

__ “You should go get ready, you’ve only got two hours,” Amy said. 

“That’s plenty of time.” 

“Not when you’ll be fussing with your hair for an hour,” she retorted and he rolled his eyes but smiled. 

“I’m leaving now, I won’t put up with this bullying,” Dan decided and stood from his seat. 

Amy hugged him goodbye and said, “Good luck,” before letting go and letting Dan go to get ready. 

“Hey you,” Phil said, smiling warmly after he opened his back door. 

“Hey yourself,” Dan replied. 

Phil was wearing his jeans and a loose white shirt that was covered mostly by a denim jacket with a woolen neck. He had on his glasses and a crooked smile that made the butterflies in Dan’s stomach float up to his throat and he had to swallow them down before an unwanted nervous chuckle escaped. 

Dan’s cheeks hurt from the grin that was planted on his face and he sucked in his lips to try hide it and seeing Phil was holding two takeout cups. “Coffee at five PM?” Dan smiled and cocked an eyebrow. 

Phil offered a cup to him. “So we don’t get too tired. I didn’t sleep too much last night and I want to be awake long enough to wreck you at MarioKart. If you want to come back here I mean.”

“Why not? I don’t have anything on tomorrow,” Dan took the cup gratefully and took a sip while Phil locked the door. “Should I ask how many coffees you’ve had today?” 

“I lost count after the third,” Phil said. 

“How resilient is your heart? My god,” Dan chuckled. 

“Shush, don’t tell my mum or she’ll have my head,” Phil replied as he turned around and began walking, Dan sticking to his side and passing him his coffee. 

“Your secret’s safe with me,” Dan smiled. “Where are you taking me?” 

“It’s… a surprise,” Phil said with uncertainty. 

“Let me rephrase my question; do you know where we’re going?” 

“No,” he said sheepishly. “I didn’t want to reserve any tables anywhere because I wasn’t sure if you’d want to eat in. I also don’t know where the media tends to go and I didn’t want to lead you into a swarm of them and upset you or hurt anyone…” 

“Phil, it’s fine. I don’t care what we do, as long as we don’t get bored.” 

“Okay,” he said, still sounding worried. 

“I promise we’ll be fine, no one really expects people to go out on Tuesday night,” Dan said and reached out to put his hand gently on Phil’s shoulder but bringing it away quickly, not wanting to invade his personal space. Especially since Phil was staring rather intensely at Dan. 

Phil looked at the ground in front of him and nodded. “Okay. But we’ll still be careful, yeah? I don’t want anything bad to happen.” 

“Of course we’ll be careful. It’s almost second nature to me now,” Dan laughed humourlessly. 

“Sorry, that was insensitive to say,” Phil apologised quickly. 

“No, it’s okay,” Dan said, annoyed it was already awkward. “I know a couple places the media doesn’t particularly go to, it’s an area where people are kind of judged if they stalk anyone with a camera or notepad in their hands.” 

“Lead the way.” 

Dan called a cab and requested someone he knew while Phil waited patiently beside him. Dan gave an apologetic smile but Phil waved it off, leaving Dan with a thankful grin plastered on his face. 

They got to a reasonably sized but still cosy restaurant and Dan requested a booth towards the back, which the waitress was happy to supply them with. She led them to a mostly hidden booth with navy cushioned seats and bright but soft lighting. The café/restaurant had a Melbournian feel to it, with exposed brick on one wall and fairy lights that swung from different places on the ceiling. Another light hung from the ceiling of the middle of the booth and lingered a metre or so above the table, illuminating the boys’ faces with a soft white glow. Some sort of fake vines were crawling along the brick wall and some fake white flowers hung from it. 

Dan and Phil sat across from each other, Phil insisting he take the far side so Dan could be more hidden even though Dan felt safe enough. 

“This is nice,” Phil said with a hint of uncertainty in his voice. 

“It is but it’s not my favourite,” Dan said and cringed at himself right after he said it, but Phil’s shy smile was almost worth-it. 

The waitress brought them over a large glass pitcher filled with water and ice as well as their menus. They thanked her with smiles. 

After a bit of debate and banter, they decided on their orders and called over the waitress. She smiled politely and set off to the kitchen immediately after they said their thank-yous. 

“How’s work going?” Phil asked, seeming as if he was actually interested (unlike Dan’s family who just ask to be polite). 

“Messy, mostly. How’s yours?” Dan said, wanting to avoid the subject but Phil easily picked up that something was wrong. 

“It’s good. What do you mean by ‘messy’?” he asked in a light tone. One that gave Dan the option of either not having to tell Phil and he wouldn’t press or for Dan to tell him without judgement. 

Dan started fiddling with his glass while he thought of how to say ‘I had a fight with my boss because of one song’ without sounding blunt. 

“Just fell out with my manager over a song, no big deal,” Dan mumbled, his eyes trained on his glass. He regretted saying anything when Phil was silent for a moment. 

“If you don’t mind me asking, why? I don’t imagine there’d be a stupid reason for it,” Phil replied, looking puzzled. 

“I just wanted to rerecord a song and she told me we couldn’t so I got mad and she got mad and… yeah. Now I don’t have a manager. Whether that’s temporary or permanently, I have no clue,” Dan said trying not to shake. He put the glass down hastily and let his leg bounce quickly under the table. 

“Dan, it's alright. If you want to rerecord it’s your decision.” 

“But… it’s just selfish of me. And now I lost my manager all because of it.” 

Dan cursed himself while he held back tears. If he hadn’t of opened his mouth he wouldn’t be in this situation right now. He didn’t want anything more than to crawl under his bedsheets and sleep for the next 15 hours but alas, he was stuck at the restaurant with Phil. 

“I have no clue on how the music industry works but I don’t think you lost your company. You’re most likely their biggest star and they’re not about to let you leave because you fell out with your manager.” 

“I guess,” Dan mumbled. “I’m sorry Phil. I… I’ll go clean myself up.” 

Dan stood and Phil sent a strained smile. “Okay.” 

Dan briskly walked to the restroom and was thankful no-one was in. He rushed into a cubicle and locked the door, then pulled out his phone and texted Amy immediately. 

_ Dan: i messed up _

_ Amy: shit, what happened?? _

_ Dan: phil asked about work and i told him about me and ange and i started crying so now he’s stuck outside and im hiding in the bathroom  _

_ Dan: idek why im crying _

_ Amy: anyone would be if they were stressed about losing their job _

_ Amy: phil will understand okay. just tell him you’re okay and its just stress cause thats all it is. GO OUT TO YOUR MAN  _

__ Despite tears still rolling down his cheeks and his nose running, Dan found the power in himself to smile and shake his head. 

_ Dan: he’s not “my man”  _

_ Amy: yet  _

_ Amy: clean urself up and go out before he thinks u ran off on him  _

_ Amy: you’ll be absolutely fine. take the time to have fun and get your mind off work tonight  _

_ Dan: thanks Ames  _

_ Amy: anytime champ :p  _

Dan put his phone away and used toilet paper to wipe away all the snot and the tears off his cheeks before flushing the toilet and washing his face at the sink. He couldn’t help fixing up his curls a little bit while rehearsing what to say in his head but he eventually forced himself away from the mirror. 

He walked back to the table and Phil looked up from his phone, shutting it off as soon as he saw Dan standing but not taking a seat. 

“Are you alright?” Phil asked. 

Dan nodded. “You mind if we go for a walk instead?” 

Phil shook his head instantly and stood, having to rush after Dan to catch up as he was already on his way to the front. They stopped at the cash register and Dan paid for their meals, telling the waitress she could have them for dinner. She thanked them and wished them well and Dan led Phil out onto the street. 

“I’m sorry if I made that weird, I shouldn’t have pushed,” Phil said nervously. 

Dan shook his head. “It’s okay, it’s not your fault. I’m just stressed out about it. How do you feel about Starbucks?” 

“I’ve probably had too much coffee for a week just today,” Phil admitted guiltily. “I’m not too hungry either.” 

“Same.” 

“We can order pizza at mine later?” 

“Sure,” Dan smiled warmly. 

They walked in a somewhat comfortable silence side by side. Dan shoved his hands into his coat pockets and blew out of his mouth, creating a fog cloud in front of him. It was a small habit he’d had since he was a kid so he didn’t realise he’d done it and missed Phil’s endearing smile. 

“You want to go to a club?” Dan asked, keeping his eyes fixed to the ground. A different habit he’d adopted so people wouldn’t recognise him as quickly nor easily. 

Phil looked at him as if he was crazy. “You’re insane.” 

“Well yes, but no,” Dan said, grinning. “My friend gave me a few masquerade masks for this party I went to once and every once in a blue moon we put them on and go out. It’s fun, and almost no-one notices. They just think it’s a costume.” 

“‘Almost’?” 

“One person recognised me like, a year ago maybe. It’s fine, we’ll be completely safe. No one suspects a thing.” 

Phil looked uneasy still. “I don’t know, Dan. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.” 

Dan tried not to take that comment to heart. “My friend was scared too, if anything bad was to happen to me it would have already.” 

“That doesn’t mean it won’t, though.” 

“C’mon  _ dad _ , I can be fun.” 

Phil shook his head but smiled, a red flush rising in his cheeks. “I hate you.” 

“Is that a ‘yes’?” 

He sighed. “Fine. If anyone realises it’s you we’re leaving straight away, though.” 

Dan punched the air. “Yes! We’ll have to change and get the masks.” 

He called a taxi and they jumped in the back, Dan giving the address to the cab driver enthusiastically. 

When they arrived at the apartment complex, Phil looked up at Dan’s building in wonderment. It was an old London building made of sandstone bricks that Dan fell in love with instantly when he first saw it, though he barely paid attention to the intricate details of the windows and entrance anymore. 

“This is beautiful,” Phil inquired while he followed Dan into the foyer and to the lifts. 

“Thank you. It’s not worth the rent but it’s the best place I could find this side of London,” Dan replied while he scanned his card and punched in the number to his apartment. 

“I know what you mean,” Phil smiled, jumping into the lift. 

The lift took them up in almost no time at all and Phil followed Dan into his apartment, expressing how much he loved the design and furniture. 

Dan was amazed at how much Phil could get out of just a room full of black and white couches and tables. He fell silent when they reached Dan’s room and Dan was worried of what he thought before he turned around to meet Phil’s shocked expression. 

“It’s nothing special,” Dan muttered. He thanked his lucky stars he made some kind of an effort to make his bed and it looked neat. 

“Are you serious? This is amazing,” Phil replied, “It’s like, something straight out of  _ Architectural Digest! _ ” 

“You read magazines? Steady on boomer,” Dan snorted and got a shove from Phil. 

“There aren’t many customers who want to read comic books, okay?” 

They laughed and Dan went to his wardrobe where he grabbed a baby pink hoodie and a band shirt. “Come here and choose something.” 

“What?”

“You can’t dance in that outfit,” Dan said, turning back to look Phil up and down. If his gaze lingered for a second longer than was probably normal he didn’t realise. 

“Sure I can, watch,” Phil said before he started moving his hips in circles and shaking his arms like they were noodles, causing the two of them to erupt into laughter. 

“I thought you were about to start flossing or something, that just hurt to watch,” Dan giggled. 

Phil tried flossing but failed miserably, making himself laugh more. “You’re right, it’s too cringey.” 

Dan shuffled through his jumpers and picked out a blue knit jumper. “Put this on, it’ll look good on you.” 

He threw it to Phil and Phil shrugged the jacket off before pulling the hoodie over his head and messing up his quiff in the process. “This is actually really comfy.” 

“I know right. And I was correct.” 

“What?” 

“It does look good on you,” Dan said and turned to close his wardrobe so he didn’t have to see Phil’s reaction, scared it was one of disgust. “The bathroom’s down the hall to the left if you wanna fix your hair.” 

Dan didn’t realise he was holding a breath until the bedroom door closed behind Phil and he exhaled heavily. He grabbed his phone out of his pocket and texted Amy quickly. 

_ Dan: hey ames  _

_ Amy: hey, what’s up?  _

_ Dan: i said something i probably should not have  _

_ Amy: can’t be the worst thing u’ve ever said…  _

_ Amy: from a scale of ‘i called harry styles cute to I said kylie jenner’s makeup quality is shit’ how much did u fuck up  _

_ Dan: i’m not that bad on twitter am i?  _

_ Amy: answer the damn question howell  _

_ Dan: i said he looked good  _

_ Amy: …  _

_ Dan: what??  _

_ Amy: u overthink way too much  _

_ Dan: shut up i regret it  _

_ Amy: well shit u should have started with that.. what was his reaction?!  _

_ Dan: idk  _

_ Amy: DANIEL JAMES HOWELL U DIDN’T SEE HIS REACTION?? HOW? _

_ Dan: i wasn’t looking okay  _

_ Amy: smh  _

_ Amy: okay _

_ Amy: worst case scenario, he bails on the night  _

_ Amy: best case, you’re in bed with him by 11  _

_ Dan: amy..  _

_ Amy: okay okay sorry but im right  _

_ Amy: you’re overthinking this, okay  _

_ Dan: i guess  _

_ Amy: where’d u get the time to text me? Did u abandon him again?  _

_ Dan: no im not that horrible, i’m getting changed  _

_ Amy: DUDE WHAT  _

_ Amy: WHAT ARENT YOU TELLING ME _

_ Dan: stfu its innocent, we’re going out clubbing  _

_ Amy: then hurry up and get changed instead of leaving him alone  _

_ Amy: don’t forget the mask for u _

_ Amy: have fun and stop texting me  _

_ Dan: ik and i will  _

Dan took a deep breath and turned off his phone before changing out of his black button-up and into the hoodie, throwing his nice coat into his wardrobe. He made a note in his mind to worry about it later. He went into his ensuite to fix his hair, brush his teeth (for what felt like and probably was the third time that day) and quickly sprayed deodorant on. He took a deep breath and made the split second decision to put some mascara on, stabbing his eye in the process with the mascara wand. He also decided to put on some lip gloss. If Phil  _ wasn’t  _ bailing after that charade then Dan felt he might as well look decent. 

_ But what if he thinks I’m trying to hook up with him…  _ the nasty part of Dan’s mind said. 

“Fuck,” Dan sighed frustratedly, opening the cupboard to wipe off the makeup before reminding himself Phil wasn’t like other people he used to go out clubbing with. 

He still felt the nervous twinge in his stomach when he forced himself to leave his room and saw the bathroom door was still closed with the light on, so he continued to the kitchen and grabbed a pack of chips he munched on nervously while he waited for Phil. 

Dan was lost in browsing through Twitter on his phone so he barely realised Phil had made his way to stand right in front of Dan. 

“Oh, hey,” Dan said, relieved to see Phil was amused he made Dan jump. 

“Hello to you too,” Phil replied. “Now where are these masks?” 

“Oh shit, hang on.” 

Dan rushed to his bedroom and grabbed a white intricately detailed lace mask and a black one with a couple feathers on the side of it. He returned to Phil and showed him the masks. 

“They’re really pretty,” Phil said, admiring the design and texture before choosing the black one and putting it on, having to put his glasses over the top. 

Dan tried to stifle his laughter but couldn’t and was in stitches for a few moments before he forced himself to recover. 

“Do I not look good anymore?” Phil said with a pout. 

“No, you do. It just looks ridiculous with your glasses over top,” Dan giggled. 

“Well unless you have contacts made for -3.5 prescriptions, it’s all I’ve got.” 

“I only have coloured contacts. Sorry,” Dan said before pulling on his own mask. 

“I definitely still know it’s you,” Phil said worriedly. 

“It’s fine, Phil. No one will notice in a room that’s dark as heck.” 

“True but still…”    
“Phil, chill, we’ll be absolutely fine.” 

“Okay.” 

Dan called a taxi and they went to a club that was both not too well known but popular enough there were still plenty of people dancing and at the bar. Only a couple people realised they were wearing masks but thought nothing of it, continuing to laugh with their friends or down shots instead of paying a second thought. 

They took seats next to each other at the bar and ordered drinks. Dan opted for a beer and Phil went for a pink drink in a fancy glass Dan couldn’t remember the name of. They had to shout over the music and laughs of others to hear each other, and even then it was a difficult task. After drinking almost all their drinks, Dan asked for some tequila shots and they each did a couple, Dan laughing at Phil when most of his second went down his nose. 

After Phil recovered, Dan asked, “Wanna dance?” 

“You sure you want to see that?” Phil said, laughing at himself and adjusting his glasses. 

“I’m as bad as you, trust me.” 

“You’re literally a world-famous singer, you can’t possibly be bad at dancing!” 

“Watch me, I dare you.” 

“Fine.” 

Dan pulled Phil out into the crowd of dancers and did the best dancing he could manage while having two shots and a beer sloshing around in his stomach. He and Phil were both clutching their sides and laughing while they tried to dance and sing along to the music. 

They danced until their stomachs couldn’t handle anymore and their feet were sore. They were both sweaty and both noticed their mouths felt extraordinarily dry while they calmed down. 

After they had fallen into giggles, Phil smiled and pointed to Dan’s face. “Your mascara is running.” 

“Shit. Hang on, I’ll go fix it,” Dan said, about to turn around when Phil stopped him by grabbing his hand. 

“No, wait,” he said. “The bathrooms are ages away.” 

With his free hand, Phil rested his palm on Dan’s cheek and swiped under his eyes with his thumb. Dan had a giddy smile on his face and he hoped his heart couldn’t be heard from how fast it was beating. 

“You smudged it more, didn’t you,” Dan smiled, seeing Phil’s serious expression go to one of amusement instead. 

“Maybe,” Phil replied, making no effort to take his hands away. 

“Let me go to the bathroom and clean up,” Dan said, but Phil made no effort to take his hands away. “Phil, you gotta let go.” 

Reluctantly, Phil pulled his hands away. “I’ll wait by the bar.” 

Dan nodded before making his way through the crowd to the bathrooms alone. His heart felt fluttery and his smile was as shit-eating as five seconds before. He went into a cubicle and leaned on the closed door, typing out a few reference points for lyrics. Most of his songs were about his teenage years but he had a few that reminded him of his favourite days. This happened to be one, even if it wasn’t as eventful as his birthday two years ago or the day he got a dog when he was a kid. 

He waited until the other two people left the bathroom and left his cubicle to quickly fix his smudged mascara and splash his face with cold water. He left the bathroom just as a few more guys were heading in. He looped around the outside of the room, hanging to the walls to avoid people recognising him. He managed to get to the bar fairly quickly and spotted Phil; it wasn’t hard to, considering he was the only one with a mask on. 

“I’m hungry,” Dan announced as he sat beside Phil. 

“Me too,” Phil replied. “Wanna go?” 

“Yeah,” Dan said. 

They called a taxi and Phil insisted they go to Dan’s ‘for a change’. Dan tried to resist but decided it was fair enough they went to his place for once. They were in fits of giggles over nothing while they travelled up the elevator and through the hallway to the entrance of Dan’s apartment. Dan kept trying to tell Phil to be quiet in case of a noise complaint but he couldn’t help laughing himself. 

“Up for a game of MarioKart?” Dan asked after they collapsed on his couch and were quiet. 

“Always. Maybe I’ll even beat you tonight,” Phil said hopefully. 

Dan chortled and got a shove from Phil. “Rude.” 

While Phil set up the ‘Switch, Dan ordered a couple pizzas. While waiting for their food they played an hour's worth of races that the harsh majority of which Dan won. He threw a couple games on purpose just to let Phil gain a sense of victory but was happy when Phil won some games fair and square as well, being dramatic about his losses. 

When their pizza arrived they sat on opposite ends of the couch with a ribena in one hand and a slice of pizza in the other while they spoke about nonsensical things. After they had eaten a fair amount of food Dan sunk down so he was laying on the couch and decided to prop his feet up on Phil’s lap. The couch was hardly big enough though, so it was more his calves that were across Phil’s lap. 

Dan thought he’d push his legs away with a laugh but Phil leaned his head to the side to rest on the couch cushion and closed his eyes. It was barely 10pm but they were both tired enough to sleep until noon the next day. 

Dan felt less tipsy since he’d had a better drink and some food, but his mind still seemed foggy. He tried to make sense of his thoughts before he spoke but eventually he found it wouldn’t happen in that moment so he whispered, “Phil?” 

“Hm?” Phil replied, keeping his eyes closed and evidently showing he was exhausted. 

“I’m sorry about my outburst earlier,” Dan said and tilted his head back against the couch armrest to stare at the ceiling to avoid seeing Phil’s reaction. “About… my job. In the restaurant.” 

“It’s fine, I crossed a line I shouldn’t have,” Phil said groggily. His arms came down to rest on Dan’s legs. 

“I’ll tell you about it tomorrow.”

“You don’t have to.” Phil sounded more conscious now. 

“But I want to. If you want to hear it, I mean.” 

“Sure. I’m too tired to process anything right now though.” 

Dan smiled. “I know.” 

After a minute or so he tilted his head back down to see Phil’s eyes were closed again and noticed the uncomfortable position Phil was in. 

“Phil, you can’t sleep like that,” Dan chuckled. 

“‘M too tired to move.” 

“This couch is the worst, trust me,” Dan said, forcing himself up. He held his hands out to Phil and pulled him up. 

“Where are you taking me?” Phil whined. 

“You can have my bed, I’ll sleep on the couch,” Dan said as he took Phil to his bedroom. “Do you want some pyjamas? I have plenty spare.” 

“Are you sure? And that's not fair, I don’t want to take your bed away from you.” 

“Sure, keep the pyjamas if you want. It’s fine, you seem to always get robbed of your bed whenever I stay at yours.” 

“But I don’t mind taking the couch,” Phil insisted while watching Dan rummage through his pyjamas, picking out a pair of red tracksuit pants and a black shirt and passing them to Phil while he got his own pjs. 

“Neither do I, you can have my bed tonight, no questions asked.” 

Phil was silent before asking, “Are you sure?” one last time and eliciting a smile from Dan who shook his head. 

“I’ll get changed in the bathroom, make yourself at home,” Dan said, leaving his bedroom to Phil while he changed in his bathroom and brushed his teeth. 

He threw his clothes in the laundry basket, not wanting to disturb Phil by having to put them away, then went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. 

He grabbed a spare blanket from his hallway cupboard and laid down on the couch ready to sleep, but of course his body wouldn’t let him now he’d gotten up. His thoughts kept him preoccupied though, as all he could think about was Phil’s hand on his cheek. He sheepishly smiled and grabbed his phone, opening his messages with Amy. 

_ Dan: WE HAD A MOMENT  _

__ He wasn’t expecting Amy to text back so soon but she proved him wrong, answering almost immediately. 

_ Amy: WHAT??!! _

_ Amy: SPILL  _

_ Dan: its sound stupid but he put his hand on my cheek  _

_ Amy: like intimately?  _

_ Dan: pls offer a reason to why u would do that platonically  _

_ Amy: IDK MAN _

_ Amy: BUT THAT’S AWESOME!!!  _

_ Dan: ikr :)  _

_ Amy: did y’all kiss?  _

_ Dan: no, we came to mine and played mk _

_ Amy: smh so typical of you  _

_ Dan: shut up  _

_ Amy: soz lol _

_ Amy: did he go back to his for the night  _

_ Dan: no, hes staying over  _

_ Amy: ‘,:) _

_ Dan: wtf is that lmao??  _

_ Dan: and istg it’s still innocent okay, i’m on the couch  _

_ Amy: i saw it on tumblr  _

_ Amy: why aren’t u sharing a bed? lord knows ur bed is big enough for you and another fifty giants  _

_ Dan: i dont wanna be weird  _

_ Amy: fair enough  _

_ Amy: want me to come over later tmrw so u guys have space?  _

_ Dan: sure. U can have the day off if u want  _

_ Amy: aight thx boss  _

_ Amy: i’m gonna go to sleep now, night. Enjoy ur day tmrw ;)  _

_ Dan: you need to stop lol  _

_ Dan: night  _

__ Dan put his phone down on the coffee table and closed his eyes but his phone buzzed again. He picked it up thinking Amy must have forgotten something or it was his grandma or someone else who wanted to get into contact with him and was surprised to see Phil’s name. 

_ Phil: i didn’t get the chance to say good night, so good night  _

Dan smiled goofily while he replied. 

_ Dan: good night  _

_ Dan: would have thought you’d be sleep by now  _

_ Phil: your bed is too comfy  _

_ Dan: ‘too comfy’? That’s why u can’t sleep? Lol  _

_ Phil: yes. it’s a srs problem. i’m also thirsty  _

_ Dan: u could have told me earlier, i’d have brought a water in for you  _

_ Phil: no it’s fine  _

_ Dan: shush, i’ll bring one now  _

_ Phil: dan u srsly don’t have to, idc  _

_ Dan: phil, be quiet  _

__ Dan groaned while he sat up and stretched out, thankful to be out of the cramped position he was in. He ignored the mess on the coffee table but took the pizzas to the fridge. He grabbed a glass and filled it with water, knocking on his bedroom door lightly before entering and setting the glass down on the bedside table next to Phil. 

“You didn’t have to,” Phil muttered, looking up at Dan from his comfortable position under the covers. 

“It’s fine, I had to put the pizzas away anyway.” 

Phil was silent before sighing. “I should have helped with that.” 

“Phil, shush. I don’t care doing it myself. You always look after me really well when I’m staying over at yours, the least I can do is return the favour. Which I’m happy to do.” 

“Okay.” 

“Do you need anything else?” Dan asked. 

He heard some rustling and Dan laughed. 

“Phil, it’s literally pitch black in here. I have no clue what you just did.” 

Phil giggled. “I shook my head. Thank you.” 

“No worries. Good night,” Dan said, making his way to the bedroom door and trying his hardest not to trip over anything. He successfully made it with no injuries and was just about to close the bedroom door when he heard Phil. 

“Dan?” 

Dan pushed the door back open a little. “Hm?” 

“You need a better couch.” 

Dan smiled. “I know. I’ll look tomorrow.” 

He was closing the door again when Phil said, “Wait. I mean you can’t sleep on the couch, that’s not fair.” 

“Phil, for the last time, I don’t care that you have my bed,” Dan said amused before a thought dawned on him. “Do you want to go back to yours? I can call a taxi.” 

“No, of course not,” Phil replied with a tone that made Dan’s words seem like they were the most ridiculous things he’d ever heard. Phil turned to pull the doona away from the empty space beside him and he patted it. 

Dan was silent for a few seconds, a lump in his throat. “Are you sure?” he managed to say. 

There was some rustling again before Phil said, “Yeah. Unless you don’t want to...” 

“Don’t be daft,” Dan said, walking into the bedroom and closing the door behind him. 

He got under the covers as carefully as he could and turned to lean on his right side and faced Phil, Phil turning to lie on his left side to do the same. 

“Hello,” Dan smiled. 

“Hey.” 

“I don’t think me being here will help you get to sleep any faster,” Dan said. 

“Who knows. There’s something calming about you,” Phil said. 

“Yeah?” 

“Mhm.” 

“Even after my freakout earlier?” 

“It was barely a ‘freakout’, but yes. Even after that.” 

Dan felt the same strange fluttery feeling Phil always seemed to cause that no one else could. 

“Good night,” Dan whispered. 

“Night,” Phil yawned. 

They both fell asleep quickly and at peace. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, hope you're well!! I'm so sorry this took so long to write, I was unmotivated for a solid month but was at the grindstone for the past couple days writing the last part and editing it (something I'm DEFINITELY going to do more of, big yikes for my old writing). 
> 
> Anywho, thank you so so much to the kind souls who send or comment support and tell me how much they like the story, it means a lot for a person who despises everything they create!! You guys are 90% of the reason I continue to write. (I STILL 100% APPRECIATE EVERYONE WHO DOESN'T VOICE THEIR LOVE FOR IT!!) 
> 
> Enough of the sappy stuff though, have a lovely day/evening and stay safe! Love you all. :)

**Author's Note:**

> I felt very discouraged about the other story I tried to write so I just started another hehe..
> 
> Hope you all liked it! It'll be a short story (and most likely short chapters) because I can't stretch things out too well (unless there's drama.. so look out for that..) ahem anyway. 
> 
> Hope you all have a lovely day :)


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